Questions Important in Hiring a WordPress Developer

WordPress is the most popular content management system available today. More than 75 million websites today use WordPress as their CMS. WordPress started as a blogging platform. But it will be a great mistake if you classify WordPress just as a blogging platform. Through years, it has evolved into a versatile Content Management System(CMS). But if you want to still use it for creating a simple blog, you can. But WordPress can be the best-made use of to create fully functional websites and mobile applications.

WordPress is very easy to use and flexible enough for just about anything. This is what adds to the popularity of WordPress these days. About 22.5% of the websites on the internet are powered by WordPress. Many of the top brands like Time Magazine, Google, Facebook, Sony, Disney, LinkedIn, The New York Times, CNN, eBay etc., power their websites using WordPress due to its robust features.

The main advantage of WordPress is that it is completely free. That means you can download, install, use and modify it completely free. WordPress is an open source CMS which means the source code of the software is available for anyone to study, modify and play with. It is also a community software. Any kind of website can be created using WordPress. Anyone can contribute to WordPress by writing patches, answering support questions, writing plugins, creating themes, translating WordPress and updating documentation. WordPress is very easy to use and learn. This is why many people prefer WordPress. There are many reasons for the popularity of WordPress. The features and advantages WordPress provides take it to the top of the chart.

Building a WordPress website does not require hardcore coding. If you are trying to develop a website with optimal resources then WordPress is the best option. Also, a WordPress website does not take long to complete. WordPress is a fast development platform.

If you are about to build a WordPress website, make sure that you have a good WordPress development company or WordPress developer for the job. If you are about to outsource WordPress development services, be careful to choose the best WordPress development company or developer that will fulfil the needs of your company. Make sure that they have in-depth knowledge of WordPress and should be capable of making modifications to the site efficiently. Your website will become valuable only if you choose the right company or developer.

So it is very important that you have a deep interview with the WordPress development company or developer to make sure if it is the best option for you. You should have certain questions to ask a developer in an interview. This will help you to hire WordPress programmer by identifying all the major facets. Here are some of the questions you can ask your website developer before hiring. These questions will give you a clarity about the skill of the developer. So here we go.

Questions for Hiring a WordPress Developer

What is your experience in WordPress website development field?

The experience is a very important factor in developing a website. If the WordPress development company or developer is experienced in developing WordPress websites, you won’t have to take struggle in explaining each and everything you want. The developer will know the necessities by himself. So you must confirm the overall experience the company or developer has in this field. The answer will let you find if the candidate will be able to match your requirements. It will be good if you choose a candidate with minimum 3 to 4 experience in WordPress development services.

Which process are you following for WordPress development- Automated theme or customize a theme as per the requirements of the website?

This question will help you to find the technical skills of your WordPress development company or developer. You will be able to know the ability of the developer and the method by which he will manage the WordPress development through this question. Both the automated theme as well as the customized theme is good for a website. The thing is that it depends on the need of your website. If you don’t need any additional functionalities for your website, you can go for an automated theme. But if you modify and update your website whenever or wherever, it will be better to use a customized theme. It will be better to choose a company or developer that is expert in both the themes.

Can you add Responsive features to the website?

A responsive website is a mandatory thing today. Most of the inquiries come from the mobile users. So your website should have a mobile-friendly version. If yours is a business website, make sure that responsiveness is integrated to it. Your website has to be accessible via desktops, tablets and smartphones. So ask your website development company or developer if they are expert to carry out the website development incorporating responsiveness. Currently, 82% of the websites are responsive. Responsive websites are attaining increased click-through rates as compared to normal websites. So responsive website is an unavoidable factor. Make sure to hire a WordPress development or developer that can promise you responsiveness on your website.

Which plugins will you integrate with the website?

WordPress developers and experts comprise a huge WordPress community. They are behind WordPress which has provided a library of plugins to further facilitate the developers and webmasters. If you want to add any special functionality to your website more than the default functions, there are WordPress plugins available that can help you. So it is very important to add these plugins to your website. By asking this question to the candidate, you will be able to know whether the company or developer is capable of adding useful plugins to your website. You also have to make sure that your website is filled with excessive plugins. Use only the plugins that are needed for you.

How will you make the site SEO optimized?

WordPress is an SEO-friendly website by itself. You can completely incorporate SEO practices into your WordPress website to get better results. Even though WordPress has reliable SEO features, you will have to add some more SEO techniques to bring your website in the search results. So make sure that the company or developer you hire should be able to identify the techniques and methods that will have negative as well as positive effects on the profitability. You should have an idea of what the candidate will do to increase the SEO rankings of your website in future.

Is PSD to WordPress conversion possible?

WordPress is becoming popular day-by-day due to its easiness to use and the features it provides. So the website owners who are struggling with their old websites would want to convert their existing websites to WordPress. You will get a new and entirely different look and feel if you convert your website into a WordPress theme. So make sure that the candidate you hire is an expert who knows to convert PSD to WordPress. This ability will be very useful for you if you have an existing website.

Can you make the WordPress website secure?

Security is a key factor for a website. Even if your website is strong and robust, it won’t be profitable to you if it is not secured. If the developer or the development company is an expert, they will make your website secure. The candidate you hire should have complete knowledge of implementing the security tricks to the WordPress website. You should also have an idea of what they are doing to protect your website from hackers. You should have your website stronger and so you should be able to know their potential in strengthening your website.

Will you provide support and maintenance to the website?

Future support and maintenance of the project are the main in the website development. Make sure that the WordPress development company or developer you hire is able to provide support even after the website launch. So this question has to be asked. If they are willing to provide support and maintenance, then get knowledge about their communication channels. Get an idea of how they prefer to converse with their clients. Knowing these things will help you in your future needs.

These eight questions will be very helpful for you in hiring a WordPress development company or developer. You will get a good WordPress website if you hire the right company or developer. These questions will make sure that you hire the right company or developer. If your choice becomes Wrong, the entire time and resources you spend on developing your WordPress website can become a waste. There are many features WordPress provides that can be made use of to create an outstanding website. The only thing is that your developer or development company should be able to make use of them. So make sure to include these questions in your questionnaire in hiring a developer or a development company.